Signing for Love
by Halibugz
Summary: She knew this was the right thing to do. He needed a stable home. She wasn't ready to be a mother. Yet, she had so much love for him already. Fem!Ed (pregnancy). Rated T for brief language.


**So this was kind of just a quick little drabble I thought up. Actually, in doing this, I thought of something for a multi-chapter fic, so keep an eye on for a new fic maybe.** **I needed to kill some time waiting for my car to get out of the shop (my birthday was the 20th and my parents got me a car).**

* * *

"How is the munchkin doing?" Alphonse asked as he walked into the apartment he shared with his sister. Ed was currently reclining on the sofa in the living room right off the front door with her feet up. Her swollen stomach was carrying a child, but she had been complaining about her swollen ankles for some time instead of the fact that her clothing no longer fit.

"Don't call it that," Ed said, glaring at her brother. It had been news to everyone at Central Command that the girl was pregnant, but it was no secret that she wasn't keeping it. Ed had voiced that she wasn't ready to be a mother at twenty-years old. She still wanted to travel, and was already unhappy just staying in one place to have the baby. She had only just restored Alphonse to his original body.

"Sorry," Al apologized. He moved to the kitchen to make some lunch. Ed hadn't moved from where she was sitting since before he left and the boy knew she had to be hungry. "Want anything in particular for lunch?"

"A meatball sub," Ed answered, "with American cheese and pickles."

"...What?" Alphonse asked with a raised eyebrow. He shouldn't have been so surprised. Ed had been having all kinds of weird cravings since before she even knew she was pregnant.

"Don't judge me from your...judgey spot," Ed said. "You asked what I wanted and I told you. Now make me a meatball sub or get out of the kitchen so I can do it." Alphonse was tempted to tell Ed to try and even get up off the couch, but he knew she would do it, and she was horrible at getting out of sitting positions these days.

"I'm not judging you," Alphonse said before moving to make lunch. He would make Ed what she wanted if it would pacify her.

Al had been worried about this pregnancy since Ed told him about it. Ed had always been a small girl, though when she restored Alphonse's body, she shot up half a foot in height. But Alphonse was still worried about his sister not taking care of herself. She still refused milk.

"Are we still going to your Lamaze classes tonight?" Alphonse asked. Ed had actually been the one to suggest going to the classes. She read something about it making the birth easier. Al wasn't sure that was true. It was still going to hurt.

"Yeah," Ed answered as she was handed her meatball sandwich. Her stomach was the perfect size to balance a plate on and use as a table. She was successfully pacified.

"Don't forget that you have an appointment at the doctors in a few hours," Al reminded. They needed to know how the baby was doing. "We're going to go to your Lamaze class after the appointment."

"I got it; stop nagging me," Ed said. "Can't you see I'm trying to enjoy this delicious sandwich that my blabby brother made for me?"

Alphonse couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'll go, but don't take a nap." If Ed took a nap, they would never make it to anything they had scheduled.

"I got it."

* * *

When Alphonse returned to check on his sister, he found her dozing on the couch. He groaned; if he didn't get her up now, she would never get up.

"Sister..." Al called out as he gently shook Ed by the shoulder. He still had to be careful; Ed was still healing on her right shoulder. "Sister, we need to go to your doctor's appointment."

Ed's eyes shot open before realizing that it was just Alphonse shaking her.

"Um..." she spoke after a minute.

"What is it?" Al asked.

"I think we might need to go to the doctor a little sooner than planned," Ed said. "I think I'm feeling contractions."

"Do they hurt?" Alphonse asked hastily.

"Yeah..." Ed trailed off, "but they're not as bad as pain I've felt before." The blonde barely managed to get this out before she shot off the couch faster than Alphonse had seen her do in weeks and grab at her stomach. "Oh god!"

"We need to get you to the hospital," Al said quickly. He wanted to call for back-up, but he didn't have the time. He needed to get Ed out of there and to the hospital.

Alphonse hurried Ed out of their apartment and hailed a cab to get to the hospital. Al was worried they would have a baby in the back of the car, but they made it. No sooner than they had walked in the door of the hospital, Ed had begun bleeding.

They took her to the back. They took her to the back where Alphonse wasn't allowed to be and left him all alone. He took the opportunity to call for help.

Mustang came with Ed's overnight bag that Al had neglected when trying to get out of the apartment. He wrapped an arm around Alphonse's shoulders for an hour and waited for a doctor to inform them on what was happening with Ed.

Finally, a doctor returned.

"We did an ultrasound and discovered that the baby was breech," the doctor explained. "I confirmed it with an internal exam and we quickly moved for a cesarean procedure."

"We were worried about that," Mustang said. With Ed having been seriously injured in her stomach when she was sixteen, the doctors, along with Mustang and Alphonse, had been worried that a cesarean procedure would be necessary.

"The delivery was a success. The baby is in the nursery per request of Ed and she's under anesthetic," the doctor said. "You can go in to see her, but try not to wake her."

"Thank you," Alphonse thanked before rushing into the room to see his sister. On the way there, he and Mustang couldn't help but catch a glimpse at the large window that showed off the nursery. They knew which one was Ed's already.

When they entered the room Ed was staying in, they noticed she was already awake. The doctors had seemed so adamant about them not waking her and she was already awake.

"Sister..." Alphonse trailed off. He quickly found himself by Ed's side. "How are you?"

"My stomach is fucking killing me," Ed said with a hoarse voice. "But I'll live."

"It wouldn't be the first time you've been in this type of pain," Mustang commented.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked.

"I brought the overnight bag Alphonse forgot," Mustang answered, holding up the black duffle.

"And I thought you were the responsible one," Ed joked, though she quickly fell to silence. "Did you see...?"

"We passed the nursery on the way here," Alphonse said. "Do you want to know what it is?"

"It's a boy," Ed said, her voice growing quieter, as if it were taboo to say it. "They told me it was a boy."

"He's very handsome," Mustang said. "He looks like his parents."

"I'm not his mother and his father already signed the papers," Ed said. "We're not his parents. He has two parents on their way for him."

"They'll be great parents," Alphonse said. "You made the right decision for you, Ed. He'll be very happy."

"I know," Ed said with a nod. Suddenly, the door burst open to reveal Izumi and Sig.

"Oh, Ed, we were worried about you," Izumi said, running over to the bed beside Alphonse. "The doctors told us about the delivery."

"My granny said that my mom was the same way when she had me," Ed said suddenly. "She said mom bled all over the place and when I was born, I was so small, and I wasn't even breathing. Part of me was worried about the same thing happening to him."

"A boy?" Sig asked. Ed nodded.

Just as quickly as Izumi and Sig had barged in, the doctor quickly entered the room to join the crowd.

"You certainly know how to bring a party to the hospital, Elric," the doctor said. Of course, Ed had been a patient at the hospital many times. "I'm glad to see the happy parents are here as well. Are you ready to sign the papers?"

Izumi looked to Ed. "Are you _sure_ this is what you want to do?"

Ed nodded once more. "I think you'll be great parents. You were like a mom to me and I know you'll be a great mom to him."

"You've been too kind to me, Ed," Izumi said, running her hand through Ed's long hair. "You brought you and your brother to me, begging me to teach you. It gave me a chance to be a mother. And now you've given me another chance."

"Take the chance," Ed said. "I think...I think it's better off this way. I know he'll be a badass kid, at least."

Izumi turned to the doctor. "We're ready to sign the papers."

"All right," the doctor said, holding out his clipboard of papers. "The father has already signed, yes?" Ed nodded. She had him sign months ago. "All right, then once the adoptive parents have signed, all we need is your signature, Ed."

The clipboard was handed over to her and Ed could only stare down at it. She knew this was the right thing to do. He needed a stable home. She wasn't ready to be a mother. Yet, she had so much love for him already.

She signed.


End file.
